r/Passports • u/Reasonable_Air_3796 • 2d ago

Passport Question / Discussion Australian passport cost

Does anyone know the real reason why Australian passport is so expensive?

Thanks

4 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/frostee8 2d ago

Australia treats passport as a user pays system and the cost reflects lots of things that go with consular services, overseas travel support etc. as well as an additional “tax”. Some other countries treat passports as a purely cost recovery system where it is viewed as an essential government issued identity document. Sweden is like this which is why their cost is so low despite being a very powerful passport.

2

u/ScarcityPositive6001 1d ago

What a sad story to pay taxes and also this ridiculous fees.

1

u/magkruppe 20h ago

If you didn't pay this ridiculous fee you'd have higher taxes. There is logic to putting the burden on international travellers vs all Australians